The Day We Lost the H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes, and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History

by Barbara Moran

  ——. U.S. Air Force Oral History interview by John T Bohn. AFHRA, K239.0512-736. March 9, 1971.

  ——. U.S. Air Force Oral History interview by Thomas Belden. AFHRA, K239.0512-593. March 29, 1972.

  ——. U.S. Air Force Oral History interview by Robert Futrell, Thomas Belden, and J. Van Staaveren. AFHRA, K239.0512-592. June 8, 1972.

  Ligon, Tom. Telephone interview. November 30, 2006.

  Lindbergh, Jon. Telephone interview. July 11, 2007.

  MacKinnon, Malcolm. Personal interview. December 4, 2006.

  Markcum, Glenn. Personal interview. March 27, 2007.

  Martin, George. Telephone interview. May 9, 2007.

  Martin, Jerome. Personal interview. August 26, 2005.

  Maydew, Jean and Barbara. Personal interview. October 21, 2006.

  Maydew, Randall. Oral history. Randall Maydew files, SNL. August 22, 1985.

  ——. Interview by Necah Furman. SNL. December 1991.

  Markel, Art. Personal interview. September 25, 2006.

  McAlees, Sam. Personal interview. October 23, 2006.

  McCamis, Marvin. Personal interview. January 31, 2003.

  Melson, Lewis. Personal interview. August 23, 2006.

  Messinger, Larry. Personal interview. January 31, 2003. Telephone interview. October 19, 2004.

  Miracle, Stephen. Personal interview. August 23, 2005.

  Moïse, Edwin. Telephone interview. August 16, 2007.

  Montalbine, Gary. Telephone interview. August 16, 2007.

  Moncrief, “Monty.” Personal interview. August 23, 2005.

  Montgomery, John B. U.S. Air Force Oral History interview by Mark C. Cleary AFHRA, K239.0512-1586. April 30–May 1, 1984.

  Moody, Dewitt “Red.” Personal interview. November 7, 2006. Telephone interview. July 17, 2007.

  Mooney, J. Bradford “Brad.” Personal interview. March 30, 2007.

  Morris, Chuck. Telephone interview. November 14, 2006.

  Pace, Robert. Telephone interview. February 6, 2007.

  Page, Horace C. Telephone interview. April 3, 2007.

  Pepper, William. Personal interview. October 21, 2006.

  Porembski, Chester. Personal interview. November 17, 2006.

  Porteous, John. Personal interview. September 6, 2006.

  Ramirez, Joe. Personal interviews. January 27, 2007, and April 27, 2007.

  Ramirez, Sylvia. Telephone interview. May 25, 2007.

  Richardson, Henry “Tony.” Telephone interviews. October 31 and November 9, 2006. Personal interview. October 31, 2007.

  Rooney, Michael. Telephone interviews. January 14, 2005, April 14, 2005, and June 27, 2005.

  Sass, Rick. Personal interview. January 8, 2007.

  Singleton, Robert. Telephone interview. November 27, 2006.

  Smith, Francis. Personal interview. March 28, 2007.

  Smith, Joseph. Telephone interviews. January 23, 2007, and August 9, 2007.

  Sproull, Robert. Telephone interview. May 11, 2007.

  Starkweather, Glen. Personal interview. July 29, 2005.

  Stevens, Denford. Telephone interview. November 30, 2006.

  Strickrott, Bruce. Personal interview. July 2, 2007.

  Towell, Timothy. Telephone interview. January 5, 2007. Personal interview. January 8, 2007.

  Tyler, George. Personal interview. September 26, 2006.

  Tyndale, Clyde. Personal interview. November 3, 2006.

  Ulrich, Rebecca. Personal interview. October 24, 2006.

  Vornbrock, Walter. Telephone interview. April 23, 2007.

  Walden, Barrie. Personal interview. July 25, 2006.

  Wendorf, Charles. Interview by Flora Lewis. AFHRA, KWG-68-5U-PE (tapes 1 and 2). Undated.

  ——. Telephone interviews. October 16, 2004, and July 30, 2005.

  White, Alton “Bud.” Interview by Flora Lewis. AFHRA, K416.051-63 (tapes 1 and 2) and K416.051-64 (tape 3). Undated.

  White, Gaylord. Personal interview. March 3, 2007.

  Wiley, Mo. Personal interview. August 23, 2005.

  Winkler, Allan. Telephone interview. January 14, 2005.

  Wolk, Herman. Telephone interview. November 21, 2005.

  Zablocki, Robert. Telephone interview. December 11, 2006.

  NOTES

  ABBREVIATIONS

  AFHRA Air Force Historical Research Agency

  DOD U.S. Department of Defense

  DOE U.S. Department of Energy

  DOS U.S. Department of State

  Duke Duke University Rare Book, Manuscripts and Special Collections Library

  FOIA Freedom of Information Act

  LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory

  LBJ Lyndon B. Johnson Library

  NARA National Archives and Records Administration

  NHC Naval Historical Center

  NNSA National Nuclear Security Agency

  SMV Science Museum of Virginia

  SNL Sandia National Laboratories

  WHOI Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

  PROLOGUE

  ix Francisco Simó Orts stood: Simó's actions on the day of the accident come from several sources, most notably Flora Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs Is Missing (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967), pp. 37–41; Tad Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares (London: Victor Gollancz, 1967), pp. 38–40; U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Ship Systems Command, Aircraft Salvage Operation Mediterranean (Aircraft Salvops Med). Sea Search and Recovery of anUnarmed Nuclear Weapon by Task Force 65, Sixth Fleet, 17 January–7 April 1966 (Reston, Va.: Ocean Systems, 1967) (henceforth Aircraft Salvops Med), vol. 1, p. 9; and author's interviews with Joe Ramirez, January 27, 2007, and April 27, 2007.

  ix Like a bronzed Kirk Douglas: The quote is from Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, p. 40.

  x And two splashed down: Some sources list the distances in meters, others in yards. The sources agree that Simó saw six parachutes, but to avoid confusion, the author mentions only those that the fisherman saw landing in the water.

  JANUARY

  CHAPTER 1: MIGHTY SAC

  3 Twenty-four hours earlier: Wendorf's personal history and his account of the day of the accident come from two major sources: author's interviews with Wendorf on October 16, 2004, and July 30, 2005, and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Report of Major Aircraft Accident, KC-135A, 61-0273, B-52G, 58-256 (Directorate of Safety, Sixteenth Air Force, 1966).

  4 logging 2,100 flying hours: Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, p. 5.

  4 His copilot: Rooney's personal history and his account of the day of the accident come from two major sources: author's interviews with Rooney on January 14, 2005, April 14, 2005, and June 27, 2005, and Report of Major Aircraft Accident.

  4 One writer described the pilot: Rooney enjoyed “the charms of nurses, daughters of senior officers, and belles of nearby Raleigh.” Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, p. 7.

  5 The third pilot that day: Messinger's personal history and his account of the day of the accident come from two major sources: author's interviews with Messinger on January 31, 2003, and October 19, 2004, and Report of Major Aircraft Accident.

  6 The big news stories: The New York Times, January 16, 1966, p. 1.

  6 And 35,000 feet above it all: Author's interview with Charles Wendorf, October 16, 2004.

  6 32,193 nuclear warheads: www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/50.aspx.

  6 674 bombers, 968 missiles, and 196,887 people: Alwyn T. Lloyd, A Cold War Legacy: A Tribute to the Strategic Air Command, 1946–1992 (Missoula, Mont.: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1999), pp. 676–677.

  6 The commander of SAC directed: SAC, in conjunction with the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (JSTPS), was legally responsible for selecting targets for Air Force and Navy strikes, but the commander of SAC was also the director of the JSTPS. Jerome Martin, e-mail to author, March 10, 2008.

  6 SAC supplied much of the military intelligence: An excellent overview of SAC's dominance comes from Mike Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals: The Problem of Air Force Leadership, 1945–1982 (Max
well Air Force Base, Ala.: Air University Press, 1998), especially chaps. 3 and 4.

  7 At dusk on March 9, 1945: Information on the bombing of Tokyo comes from Thomas M. Coffey, Iron Eagle: The Turbulent Life of General Curtis LeMay (New York: Crown Publishers, 1986), pp. 155–165; Bruce Rae, “300 B-29's Fire 15 Square Miles of Tokyo,” The New York Times, March 10, 1945, p. 1; Warren Moscow, “Center of Tokyo Devastated by Firebombs,” The New York Times, March 11, 1945, p. 1. See also “American Experience: Victory in the Pacific,” directed by Austin Hoyt, 2005, transcript at www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/filmmore/pt.html.

  7 LeMay had been running the show: The background on LeMay in Guam is from Curtis LeMay with MacKinlay Kantor, Mission with LeMay: My Story (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1965), pp. 342–347, and Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 146–147.

  8 Sensing impatience from Washington: Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 155–156. 8 At about 2 a.m.: Ibid., p. 163.

  8 When World War II began: Background on the AAF and long-range strategic bombing comes from many sources, including Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, chap. 1; author's interview with Jerome Martin, August 26, 2005; Walton S. Moody, Building a Strategic Air Force (Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, 1996), chap. 1; Richard H. Kohn and Joseph P. Harahan, eds., Strategic Air Warfare: An Interview with Generals Curtis E. LeMay, Leon W Johnson, David Burchinal, and Jack Catton (Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1988).

  9 an assignment to a bomber crew: The dangers of flying in a World War II bomber are covered in Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, chap. 1, and Coffey, Iron Eagle, chaps. 5 and 6.

  9 the 100th Bomber Group lost seven planes: Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 99–100.

  9 Bomber crews were more likely: Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 8.

  10 A stricken B-17: Coffey, Iron Eagle, p. 86.

  10 LeMay, head of the 4th Bombardment Wing: The background on LeMay in England comes from Coffey, Iron Eagle, chaps. 5 and 6, and Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, pp. 19–47.

  11 The Navy brass, riding high: Coffey, Iron Eagle, p. 145.

  11 In a city like Tokyo: The details on the firebombing of Tokyo come from Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 164–165; Bruce Rae, “300 B-29's Fire 15 Square Miles of Tokyo,” The New York Times, March 10, 1945, p. 1; Warren Moscow, “Center of Tokyo Devastated by Firebombs,” The New York Times, March 11, 1945, p. 1. See also “American Experience: Victory in the Pacific” and Richard Rhodes, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995), pp. 17–24.

  12 “When you kill 100,000 people”: Drea, quoted in “American Experience: Victory in the Pacific.”

  12 “No matter how you slice it”: LeMay, Mission with LeMay, p. 352.

  12 When the B-29s returned from Tokyo: Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 166–172.

  12 By summer, LeMay announced: Ibid., p. 174.

  13 “I think it's more immoral”: LeMay, Mission with LeMay, p. 382.

  13 It was far more humane: Ibid., p. 384.

  13 LeMay attended the Japanese surrender ceremonies: Ibid., p. 390.

  13 the atomic bombs had been impressive but anticlimactic: Curtis LeMay, U.S. Air Force Oral History, January 1965 (AFHRA). See also Coffey, Iron Eagle, p. 179; Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 25; Richard Rhodes, Dark Sun, pp. 17–24.

  13 In the months after VJ Day: Background on the AAF drive for independence comes from Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 27–34; “LeMay Discusses Air War of Future,” The New York Times, November 20, 1945, p. 3; John Stuart, “Army Air Leaders Want U.S. on Guard for Sudden Attack,” The New York Times, October 2, 1945, p. 1; and author's interview with Jerome Martin, August 26, 2005.

  13 The famed pilot Jimmy Doolittle: Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 30–31.

  14 “Being peace-loving and weak”: Stuart, “Army Air Leaders Want U.S. on Guard for Sudden Attack.”

  14 With the Army's blessing: Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 31.

  14 The Air Force started life: E-mail, Jerome Martin to author, March 10, 2008.

  14 they saw SAC as the key: Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 30–33.

  14 Not that there was much to grab: Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 27–29; author's interview with Jerome Martin, August 26, 2005; Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, pp. 73–75, 82.

  14 “We just walked away”: Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, p. 74.

  14 “We started from nothing”: Ibid., p. 82.

  14 SAC floundered: Ibid., pp. 73–78; and Jerome Martin interview, August 26, 2005. For a deeper discussion of SAC's postwar troubles, see Harry R. Borowski, A Hollow Threat: Strategic Air Power and Containment before Korea (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982).

  14 But by 1948: A good introduction to the Berlin Crisis and the early Cold War can be found in John Lewis Gaddis, The Cold War: A New History (New York: Penguin Press, 2005), chap. 3.

  15 On October 19, 1948: Lloyd, A Cold War Legacy, p. 666.

  15 The situation shocked him: Curtis LeMay, U.S. Air Force Oral History Interview, March 9, 1971 (AFHRA); Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, pp. 78–84; Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 271–276; LeMay, Mission with LeMay, pp. 429–447; Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 58–63.

  15 “We had to be ready”: Curtis LeMay, U.S. Air Force Oral History Interview, March 9, 1971, p. 29 (AFHRA).

  15 LeMay sprang into action: LeMay's transformation of SAC is discussed in Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 59–63; Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, pp. 78–84; Karen Salisbury, “Defense: Bombers at the Ready,” Newsweek, April 18, 1949, pp. 24–26.

  15 Power was not well liked: Coffey, Iron Eagle, p. 276; Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 81–82.

  16 “My goal”: Kohn and Harahan, Strategic Air Warfare, p. 84.

  16 he had created a religion: LeMay explains his theories on deterrence in his autobiography, Mission with LeMay, as well the oral histories he recorded for the Air Force. In Strategic Air Warfare, p. 97, Kohn and Harahan recorded a telling exchange between LeMay and Kohn:

  KOHN: Was it difficult because it was peacetime, or was there no sense of peacetime in SAC…

  LEMAY: It was wartime.

  17 The year 1952 began the golden age: A detailed discussion of SAC's rise to power can be found in Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, chaps. 3 and 4. For Eisenhower's views on nuclear war, see Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 66–68. For an overview of Americans' attitudes toward nuclear weapons in the 1950s, see Allan M. Winkler, Life under a Cloud: American Anxiety about the Atom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), chap. 3.

  17 Eisenhower's philosophy led to a windfall: Statistics in this paragraph come from Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 67, and Lloyd, Cold War Legacy, pp. 676, 677, 681.

  17 “SAC was still the big daddy”: Jerome Martin interview, August 26, 2005.

  18 SAC hosted a classified briefing: Moore's memo is in David Alan Rosenberg, “A Smoking Radiating Ruin at the End of Two Hours': Documents on American Plans for Nuclear War with the Soviet Union, 1954–1955,” International Security 6, no. 3 (Winter 1981–82), pp. 25–28. The Sunday Punch is described in Fred Kaplan, The Wizards of Armageddon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983), p. 204, and Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 108.

  18. The concept of alert time: Kaplan, Wizards of Armageddon, pp. 97–110.

  19 LeMay had flown to Washington: Information on the 1956 “bomber gap” hearings comes from Kaplan, Wizards of Armageddon, pp. 156–160; Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, pp. 78–79; and The New York Times' coverage of the hearings.

  19 Worrisome intelligence had trickled in: Information on the 1955 Soviet airshow comes from Kaplan, Wizards of Armageddon, p. 156; Worden, Rise of the Fighter Generals, p. 78; and “Bison vs. B-52,” The New York Times, May 6, 1956, The Week in Review, p. 1.

  20 The Soviets had only ten Bisons: Pavel Podvig, ed., Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Cambridge, Mass.: M
IT Press, 2004), p. 375.

  20 The budget already included $16.9 billion: “On Arms and Aid,” The New York Times, Week in Review, May 13, 1956, p. 1.

  21 “Curt LeMay thinks only of SAC”: “Defense under Fire,” Time, May 14, 1956.

  21 To counter the threat: Henry M. Narducci, Strategic Air Command and the Alert Program: A Brief History (Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.: Office of the Historian, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, 1988), pp. 1–4; Lloyd, Cold War Legacy, pp. 244–245; J. C. Hopkins and Sheldon A. Goldberg, The Development of the Strategic Air Command, 1946–1986 (Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.: Office of the Historian, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, 1986), p. 65. An earlier alert operation occurred in February 1955, but the first true proof-of-concept test for ground alert was Operation TRY OUT, from November 1956 to March 1957. A description of life on ground alert can be found in “On Continuous Alert,” The New York Times Magazine, December 8, 1957, pp. 10–11.

  21 the Soviets launched Sputnik: Paul Dickson, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century (New York: Berkley Books, 2001). The Johnson quote appears on p. 117. See also Kaplan, Wizards of Armageddon, pp. 135–136. An example of press reaction to ground alert in the wake of Sputnik is Richard Witkin, “S.A.C. Operating New Alert Program: Aims to Get Third of Bomber Force Airborne within 15 Minutes after Attack,” The New York Times, November 11, 1957, p. 12.

  22 SAC began testing another program: Hopkins and Goldberg, Development of the Strategic Air Command, 1946–1986, p. 74.

  22 “Any Soviet surprise attack”: Hanson W. Baldwin, “Ready or Not? President Upheld on Plan Not to Keep Bombers Constantly in Air on Alert,” The New York Times, March 8, 1959.